Does MoPo know what he is doing?

[worcestersauce]

On the whole I think he does I just think he has a different agenda to many of us.
He is bulding a team to play certain ways and he is developing the players to do that, sometimes that may not bring us the result we want, not that an alternative may have done either, but as an example I thought we should have played Fazio not Dier against West Ham because he is older and more experienced which was needed against a Sam Allerdyce team, I think I was proved right, Dier was bullied and suffered for it, however, by the last twenty minutes Dier had got himself under control and was more effective, he learned from the game and got better.
Ultimately it may be that a Dier after an experience like that and again yesterday with the big ball to Fellaini, will make him better for us next season and that is important.
We don't seem to have great variety in our system, as someone said, but who have we got to play something different, the only natural winger we have is Andros and what we gain from him we lose on the defensive as Andros hasn't made a successful tackle this season; in truth we are pretty restricted.

 

[Bobbins]

The biggest problem is this 4-2-3-1 nonsense and the fact that it doesn't work with our squad.

It doesn't protect the defence, it doesn't make our pressing better, and it doesn't create chances.

Until we switch to a proper 4-3-3 or similar with more presence in the middle, a proper DM, less emphasis on the full backs wandering right up to the opposition box, and more freedom for the forwards to actually attack and not have to cover the defence as well, we'll struggle to do any better than we are now.

Other teams have worked it out and we don't have the quality of Chelsea to overcome its shortcomings as a system.

It's a shit system with responsibilities in all the wrong places. Why are Townsend/Lamela/Chaldi/Eriksen having to worry about defending and covering their full back? They're attackers, their job is to attack. It's because in this system Rose and Walker are expected to be wingers as well as defenders, and it doesn't work. Get the defenders to defend, let the forwards attack, and stick three in midfield who can cover the defence and transition to/get forward to support the attack.

Midfielders are the only players who should be expected to perform more than one role on the pitch, but in our system, everyone has to be a jack of all trades. As a result we're generally masters of fuck all.

 

[Mr Pink]

So every time we put in either a good performance or a bad one a thread gets created either hailing the genius of our manager or questioning whether he know what he's doing.

Fickle much?

Bit embarrassing isn't it.

The time to really start judging is this time next season, and even beyond that.

The likelihood is we'll finish 6th, and that's where we should be finishing pretty much.

Achieving that with a group of players this young, and inexperienced, should be viewed positively considering he's laying foundations for the future.

Yes we need to be better defensively but he's had a full season to assess this squad and we all know the ones he fancies and the ones he doesn't. Sorting out the defense has to be a priority this summer but all in all I think we're going to do very well next year.

People need to remember that two/three months at the start of the season was more or less a weeding out process.

The only concern I have is why he's shied away from a team that was looking very good a month ago - right at the most critical point of our season to. That has flumoxed me but I'm hoping, and expecting, him to revert to the side that was implementing his style.

People say they'll give a manager time, but most of them won't in truth.

 

[Blockbuster]

We all agreed (well most on here) when Poch was appointed Top 4 was a no no... We'd be happy playing 'better' football and showing signs of progress...

I think Poch has achieved all of this so far, The summer is vital for us, if Levy backs Poch and signs some players he wants, plus gets rid of the ones who don't buy into Poch's plans/philosophy then we will progress again next season (barring any 'Star' player wanting out this summer, Hugo, Eriksen, Kane)

It's clear from certain matches and how we finish most games he has a plan and it's working. It's very un-Spurs like but we actually do need to give a manager time this time. put up with some awful results for the greater good.

 

[commodoreLUNGE]

Why?
It's not a trick question. Either you think he does or he doesn't.

Why not put your own opinion instead of guessing mine?

The name of this thread and your off-hand responses to what your opinion is just screams out "passive aggressive trolling".

 

[dagraham]

Does he know what he's doing? : Yes

Is he a good tactician? : No

Personally, I'd prefer a good tactician any day of the week as imo you can't win anything with just a "philosophy" unless you have lots of world class players. And we only have one at the moment.

I think if he gets the players he wants we will improve over time, but again I don't see us winning anything or getting CL football as we simply don't employ any tactics depending on the opposition or in game situation. It either works or it doesn't.

Also, given our transfer policy over the last few years I don't have much confidence in getting the right players in at all and even if we do, I'm doubtful they will be of the required quality or match winning ability. We also need to hold on to Lloris and Eriksen otherwise we will be taking one step forward and two steps back (again) .

And I think people have every right to be concerned about our comedy defence and the fact that Kane, Lloris and Eriksen have been papering over some big old cracks. "We need to buy defenders" seems to be the call, but we've already bought 3 and we could buy another 4, but unless they are the best defenders in the world at some point our manager and coaching staff are going to have to organise them into an effective unit.

I know that all sounds very negative, but it's just the reality imo and I've long felt this season we've been winging it.

That said we are still doing far better than I would have predicted in Oct/Nov and have a very young team so it's not all doom and gloom

 

[marion52]

I think we have seen more grit and determination from this team, certainly since December. As others have said though we just can't defend. He got Soton having one of the meanest defences but can't get ours even half way there, it's my biggest worry.
As for the 'hope' of some that when he gets his 'own' players things will improve, think this, too, is unlikely as he will get who he is given/is available at the right price.
So basically I have no idea of the answer the OP's question

 

[shelfboy68]

Bit embarrassing isn't it.

The time to really start judging is this time next season, and even beyond that.

The likelihood is we'll finish 6th, and that's where we should be finishing pretty much.

Achieving that with a group of players this young, and inexperienced, should be viewed positively considering he's laying foundations for the future.

Yes we need to be better defensively but he's had a full season to assess this squad and we all know the ones he fancies and the ones he doesn't. Sorting out the defense has to be a priority this summer but all in all I think we're going to do very well next year.

People need to remember that two/three months at the start of the season was more or less a weeding out process.

The only concern I have is why he's shied away from a team that was looking very good a month ago - right at the most critical point of our season to. That has flumoxed me but I'm hoping, and expecting, him to revert to the side that was implementing his style.

People say they'll give a manager time, but most of them won't in truth.

Any decent fan will give him time but he needs to sort out team defending of which he has had since the summer to do.
Other clubs have had managers go in in mid season and sort out team defending but poch has had since the summer and yet we rarely get through games without a clean sheet.
Yes i also expect to finish around sixth and would be ok with that for now, but dont forget you were one of those recently saying we can get fourth but yesterday showed why we wont.
I want this fella to succeed but Fuck me he needs to sort this out and quick otherwise confidence will drain from some of these youngsters.

 

[Stoof]

... as we simply don't employ any tactics depending on the opposition or in game situation ...

Well that's just wrong. Arsenal (A) is one example that springs to mind freely and I expect there are others.

A substitution isn't a guaranteed fix of a situation. Any number of managers get it wrong when rolling the dice.

My assessment would be: "he knows what he is doing; he doesn't have the personnel he wants to fully demonstrate what he can do".

 

[danielneeds]

It's easy to set up a team to be compact and get men behind the ball, but MoPo's trying to build a team that is agressive in pressuring the opposition. It's a project though, and when all the parts of team aren't functioning it can look bad.

 

[Mr Pink]

Any decent fan will give him time but he needs to sort out team defending of which he has had since the summer to do.
Other clubs have had managers go in in mid season and sort out team defending but poch has had since the summer and yet we rarely get through games without a clean sheet.
Yes i also expect to finish around sixth and would be ok with that for now, but dont forget you were one of those recently saying we can get fourth but yesterday showed why we wont.
I want this fella to succeed but Fuck me he needs to sort this out and quick otherwise confidence will drain from some of these youngsters.

To be fair mate I never expected him to deviate away from a side that looked so good a month ago. It wasn't just the fact that we beat Arsenal, it was the manner in which we did it that gave me confidence we could even finish top 4 this season.

I just have no idea why he abandoned a side/set up that was implementing his style so well.

But even beyond the way we set up yesterday, which was totally wrong IMO, the application was completely missing as well. We have been leaking goals but yesterday we were very poor on the ball as well and carried no threat as a result, and I don't think anyone expected that. We all know we've been struggling defensively but we've also been scoring goals. Yesterday we didn't create one thing until the 88th minute.

Anyway top 4 bollox aside, we'll still probably finish 6th and that's about par for the course. Achieving that with such a young and inexperienced group must be viewed as positive if you're the type to view the long term being more important than the short term.

But yes defense needs addressing for sure.

 

[Mr Pink]

It's easy to set up a team to be compact and get men behind the ball, but MoPo's trying to build a team that is agressive in pressuring the opposition. It's a project though, and when all the parts of team aren't functioning it can look bad.

Totally agree but that's why its even more mystifying he's abandoned the side that was implementing his style a month ago - and why he's decided to start the work shy pair of Townsend and Chadli.

That's where the problems our stemming from IMO. It has totally affected the way we're pressing from the front. I'm at a loss as to why he isn't seeing that but hoping he corrects it quickly.

Its almost as if its because we lost to Liverpool, and then having to manage the squad due to a heavy scehule and Dembele and having that mare in the first half against West Ham he just decided to go back to the attacking quartet that played against Chelsea.

Had we drew at Anfield, or even had won, he probably would of kept the side closer to what it was the whole way through this crucial period and who knows how some of the games would of turned out.

 

[Bofbro]

Did you know what you was doing when you made this thread.

 

[Blackcanary]

To be fair mate I never expected him to deviate away from a side that looked so good a month ago. It wasn't just the fact that we beat Arsenal, it was the manner in which we did it that gave me confidence we could even finish top 4 this season.

I just have no idea why he abandoned a side/set up that was implementing his style so well.

But even beyond the way we set up yesterday, which was totally wrong IMO, the application was completely missing as well. We have been leaking goals but yesterday we were very poor on the ball as well and carried no threat as a result, and I don't think anyone expected that. We all know we've been struggling defensively but we've also been scoring goals. Yesterday we didn't create one thing until the 88th minute.

Anyway top 4 bollox aside, we'll still probably finish 6th and that's about par for the course. Achieving that with such a young and inexperienced group must be viewed as positive if you're the type to view the long term being more important than the short term.

But yes defense needs addressing for sure.

This is really odd to me. The experiment with Dembele in the middle of the AM3 seemed to me to really help us and represented a useful half-way house between adopting Poch's system and a more solid option to have a third man drop into midfield when necessary.

Yes, Dembele had a dodgy time of it against West Ham but he then completely dropped the idea entirely instead of exploring how else to use it - could you play Mason there instead, for example and stick somebody more defensively minded alongside Nabil? Perhaps Dembele just had an off day - why has he since been kicked to the kerb? It's frustrating because it struck me that it could potentially be the answer to a number of issues.

 

[Mr Pink]

This is really odd to me. The experiment with Dembele in the middle of the AM3 seemed to me to really help us and represented a useful half-way house between adopting Poch's system and a more solid option to have a third man drop into midfield when necessary.

Yes, Dembele had a dodgy time of it against West Ham but he then completely dropped the idea entirely instead of exploring how else to use it - could you play Mason there instead, for example and stick somebody more defensively minded alongside Nabil? Perhaps Dembele just had an off day - why has he since been kicked to the kerb? It's frustrating because it struck me that it could potentially be the answer to a number of issues.

Also he made changes to the starting eleven against West Ham, so it wasn't even as if it was the exact same side, with Dembele in the ten position, and we were woeful etc. Eriksen didn't even start as we entering the crunch period with loads of games on the horizon.

Yes Dembele was terrible first half but that is nowhere near enough to warrant chucking a set up, with the same personnel, out the window - particularly at such a vital time in our season.

The fact that Pochettino withdrew Townsend for Dembele yesterday tells us that he's been thinking about who to start, but why I don't know. The questions were already answered when we played so well against Arsenal, and to a lesser extent against Liverpool.

One poor half against West Ham from one player and the whole thing goes out the window. Its just a total over reaction and its cost us IMO, but hopefully he'll learn from that.

I still have real faith in the way Pochettino wants us to play, the game against Arsenal was one of the of best performances I've seen from a Spurs side in the modern era. That should of been the blueprint for the foreseeable.

 

[The Scarecrow]

I choose to look at it this way:

Had we not been doing as well as we have in the last few months, no one would've expected another win at Old Trafford. In my opinion, we have exceeded expectations this season, and thanks to that, we were deludedly expecting a win. Yes, we were way below an acceptable level, but last season this would just have been another collapse. This season we're crying our eyes out because we're not used to that kind of humiliation. Isn't that, if nothing else, a sign of progress?

 

[TheGreenLily]

Just like almost every other club then?!!!

But every other club, get players that suit that chosen system.

We get players, because we can make a profit on them and show horn them into a position that is completely unsuitable for them. Like Lamela playing in midfield, he is useless there, that is why Roma moved him to a forward position and we should do the same.

 

[Japhet]

The biggest problem is this 4-2-3-1 nonsense and the fact that it doesn't work with our squad.

It doesn't protect the defence, it doesn't make our pressing better, and it doesn't create chances.

Until we switch to a proper 4-3-3 or similar with more presence in the middle, a proper DM, less emphasis on the full backs wandering right up to the opposition box, and more freedom for the forwards to actually attack and not have to cover the defence as well, we'll struggle to do any better than we are now.

Other teams have worked it out and we don't have the quality of Chelsea to overcome its shortcomings as a system.

It's a shit system with responsibilities in all the wrong places. Why are Townsend/Lamela/Chaldi/Eriksen having to worry about defending and covering their full back? They're attackers, their job is to attack. It's because in this system Rose and Walker are expected to be wingers as well as defenders, and it doesn't work. Get the defenders to defend, let the forwards attack, and stick three in midfield who can cover the defence and transition to/get forward to support the attack.

Midfielders are the only players who should be expected to perform more than one role on the pitch, but in our system, everyone has to be a jack of all trades. As a result we're generally masters of fuck all.

This should absolutely be our plan B that everybody is familiar with and understands their role. Plan A is fine when we can control possession but it's a crock of shit when we can't get a foothold in a game.

 

[TheGreenLily]

The biggest problem is this 4-2-3-1 nonsense and the fact that it doesn't work with our squad.

It doesn't protect the defence, it doesn't make our pressing better, and it doesn't create chances.

Until we switch to a proper 4-3-3 or similar with more presence in the middle, a proper DM, less emphasis on the full backs wandering right up to the opposition box, and more freedom for the forwards to actually attack and not have to cover the defence as well, we'll struggle to do any better than we are now.

Other teams have worked it out and we don't have the quality of Chelsea to overcome its shortcomings as a system.

It's a shit system with responsibilities in all the wrong places. Why are Townsend/Lamela/Chaldi/Eriksen having to worry about defending and covering their full back? They're attackers, their job is to attack. It's because in this system Rose and Walker are expected to be wingers as well as defenders, and it doesn't work. Get the defenders to defend, let the forwards attack, and stick three in midfield who can cover the defence and transition to/get forward to support the attack.

Midfielders are the only players who should be expected to perform more than one role on the pitch, but in our system, everyone has to be a jack of all trades. As a result we're generally masters of fuck all.

Why do you think Levy chose Pooch? Because Pooch played a 4-2-3-1 system, that is what the committee wants, that is what the committee gets.

I hate 4-2-3-1.

 

[TheHoddleWaddle]

Well that's just wrong. Arsenal (A) is one example that springs to mind freely and I expect there are others.

A substitution isn't a guaranteed fix of a situation. Any number of managers get it wrong when rolling the dice.

My assessment would be: "he knows what he is doing; he doesn't have the personnel he wants to fully demonstrate what he can do".

Agree with your assessment in italics. I think his system would benefit with the right players, certainly the side is desperate for pace in the final 3rd. The counter argument if course, is why is he forcing square pegs in round holes with a system and players that don;t really match? He should be flexing his 'system' to suit the players he has. Be it formation or playing style or a blend of both.

Don't get me wrong, when it clicks we get superb performances, ala Chelsea / Arsenal and I am looking forward to seeing what Poch will do next season and beyond, hopefully with the required additions. I just have reservations about his dynamism with regards to formation / tactics.